Lakers aware they need Mob mentality

Bench play, one of the intriguing games within the games, figures to be as important as ever when the Lakers and Phoenix Suns take the court at Staples Center for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Monday.

The defending NBA champion Lakers appear to have all sorts of advantages over the Suns, including size, muscle and championship pedigree. The Suns might have a significant edge in the play of their substitutes, however.

It's been a long while since anyone referred to the Lakers' backups as the Bench Mob. More often this season, the reserves have entered games and Lakers fans have braced themselves for missed shots, missed defensive assignments and lost leads.

The backups certainly had an uncharacteristic run of consistency during the Lakers' sweep of the Utah Jazz in the second round. The subs played it steady for most of the four games and combined to average a modest total of 22.5 points per game.

The Suns' backups have the potential to be far more explosive. For example, Goran Dragic torched the San Antonio Spurs for 23 points in the third quarter of Game 3 of Phoenix's sweep in the second round.

The Suns bench then scored 41 points in Game 4.

"It's a chance for us to really pick it up," Lakers sixth man Lamar Odom said. "It would be important for us to outplay their bench if we want to win this series."

Odom, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell and Luke Walton frequently are mixed and matched with the starters. Sasha Vujacic also will be available after sitting out the first 10 playoff games because of a sprained left ankle.

Odom, a versatile forward, often replaces center Andrew Bynum and plays big minutes with the first unit. Starters Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol play significant minutes with the second unit. Brown sometimes replaces Bryant or Derek Fisher.

"The second-unit play is going to be very, very important," Brown said. "They have a great unit coming off their bench. They play well together all the time. We're going to have to be up for the challenge.

"We have to play hard no matter who's with us. Whether it's me, Jordan, Lamar, Kobe, Pau or whoever else is in the mix on that second unit, we're going to have to come out and play hard and execute on the offensive end and play together on defense."

The Suns will counter the Lakers' backups with Dragic, Lou Amundson, Leandro Barbosa, Jared Dudley and Channing Frye. They are not as big or as accomplished as the Lakers' second unit, but they are speedy and energetic.

"Good teams that I've been on, there's always a guy off the bench that's going to come in and provide a spark," Suns assistant coach Dan Majerle told the Arizona Republic newspaper. "And it's not always the same guy.

"For us, it's been Channing Frye. It's been Dudley. It's been Goran. It's been Leandro Barbosa. It's been Lou Amundson, with his hustle and energy. That's the mark of a good team."

Another rest day

The Lakers did not practice Thursday for the second time in three days. They are scheduled to practice today, Saturday and Sunday in preparation of Game 1 on Monday night.